Justin B. Terry-Smith has been involved in Gay and HIV Activism since 1999. He is an Air Force 9/11 Disabled Vet. Raised in Silver Spring, MD, he now lives in Severn, MD with his husband Phil. He writes an HIV/STI Advice Column for A&U Magazine, is a Contributing writer for thebody.com, a Life Coach and an Adjunct Professor. He has earned his Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in Infectious Disease.

Justin's HIV Journal

Monday, November 14, 2016

Greetings from Accra. I cannot stop admiring your online posts and pictures and your positive attitude toward life. This makes me wonder if you are really HIV-positive because you do not fit the popular image of a person living with HIV as melancholy and lonely. Most people here do not disclose and are living in silence because of stigma. This brings me to the question: How did you find out you are positive—of course it was by testing but what led you to go and test for HIV? Did you have symptoms? What were they? How long after your exposure to the virus did you get tested?

These appear to be personal questions. It’s okay if you do not wish to answer any of them. Thanks and regards. Good health and blessings to you.

Justin B Terry-Smith

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About Justin B Terry-Smith

My name is Justin B Terry-Smith, I'm a Black Gay man living in Laurel, Maryland and I am HIV+. I've decided to share my story because I feel it's important that people who have unprotected sex know what they might be getting themselves into. People have asked me why I am doing this, why have I put my personal business out like this. I tell them it is to help educate people, to make them aware and to make them think twice about having unprotected sex. This is my personal journey that needs to be told to help the community.
HIV is neither glamorous or a rite of passage. Watch the Journal and think twice.
In the words of Pedro Zamora, "I'm not dying. I'm living with it"